


Edelweiss

by crimsonherbarium



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Edelwood Trees, Faustian Bargain, Gen, Pre-Canon, Smallpox, The Lantern, but i had not read the comics when i wrote it, i've just been made aware that this is canon divergent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 04:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18770878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonherbarium/pseuds/crimsonherbarium
Summary: Abraham did not always carry the mantle of Woodsman.Once, he was a father...





	Edelweiss

Little hands, like a china doll's, pale as death.

Pockmarked skin against a calico blanket. The fabric stuck to the skin in places, adhered to the sores by the pus that wept from them. A little forehead, streaked with sweat, burning hotter than the woodstove. Cheeks as red as summer apples, but nowhere near as appealing. Little blue eyes, hollow in their sockets, streaked through with red and only half-open.

Abraham buried his face in his hands and wept. There was nothing to be done. Even the doctor, who had braved the dangers of the forest road to see to little Eleanor, had simply shaken his head sadly. The sickness had to run its course. It would burn its way through her tiny, helpless body, and when it was done, if they were very, very lucky, there might be a little of her left. More likely, there would be nothing left at all.

The tallow candle that sat by the bed was burnt down almost to the end of its wick, used up over the course of many midnight vigils. Eleanor's breath came labored and ragged. The end drew close, and all Abraham could do was weep. The candle guttered in its holder.

There was a knocking at the door. Loud, insistent. Impossible to ignore, though Abraham tried. It continued on for some time before he finally rose, defeated, and dried his eyes on his sleeve. He spared a glance over his shoulder as he went to answer it, just to make sure that Eleanor was still there. That she was still breathing. The candle flickered, but remained lit.

Abraham opened the door and found nothingness. A blackness so deep and all-encompassing that the stars themselves were blotted out by it. He couldn't hear the croaking of the summer frogs, nor the low drone of the cicadas. There was only the dark.

The blackness undulated, condensing in upon itself until it formed a tall, spindly creature. Its details morphed and shifted in the gloom, dissolving into mist at their edges. Only two things remained constant: a pair of wide, glowing eyes, and a pair of long, twisted horns, like a roe buck's, but infinitely more wicked.

"Abraham," the creature spoke in a deep baritone. "We must speak."

Abraham recoiled. "Begone from here, beast! I have no business with you."

The Beast leered. "Oh, but I think you do." Its long, skeletal fingers grasped the doorframe. It pointed at Eleanor's sickbed. "Death is upon you, Abraham. See how it seeps in through the cracks? It has its grip on her, and it will not let her go."

"Away with you!" Abraham shouted, but he did not close the door. The Beast pushed smoothly past him, unfolding itself to its full height once it was through the doorway. It towered over Abraham, cold and unnatural, as it stalked its way over to Eleanor.

"Sweet child," the Beast crooned, caressing Eleanor's cheek with one spindly finger. She struggled for air. "Her light fades, Abraham. It is barely here at all—and soon enough..." Its fingers hovered over the candle, threatening to pinch it out. "It shall be snuffed out entirely."

"What do you want from me?" Abraham said in a broken voice.

"Nothing at all," the Beast replied. "I've come to offer help. I can save her, Abraham."

"You lie!" Abraham cried. "No one can save her now."

"Her body cannot continue." The Beast peered down at Eleanor sadly. "It has endured much, but its time is done. Her soul, however, is another matter. I can keep that alive, preserve it so that she will be with you always."

"Why? Why would you do this, for me? For her?"

"I care for the children of the Unknown," the Beast said, pressing its hand to Eleanor's burning forehead. "They are very precious to me."

Abraham pondered for an agonizing moment. Eleanor whimpered in the depths of her fevered sleep.

"Alright," he said finally, sinking to his knees. "Save her. Please, save her."

Though the Beast had no face, Abraham was certain it was smiling. With two of its fingers, it reached inside her chest, withdrawing an orb of light from deep within her being and cradling it in its hand. The moment it was removed, Eleanor's eyes fell closed and she breathed her last.

Abraham choked on his sadness as tears welled up like acid in his eyes. The Beast, not missing a step, reached into the blackness of its form, and out of that blackness it pulled a lantern. It was very, very old; the scratches and dents in its enameled red coating were testament to that. Inside burned a dim, oily light.

The Beast opened the lantern's door and guided the light of Eleanor's soul into its chimney. The flame flared momentarily brighter, and then settled.

Abraham sobbed as the Beast pressed the lantern into his shaking hands. "Here she is," it said, tapping the glass. "Safe and sound. And now, you must do something for me."

Abraham looked up at the Beast with tearful eyes.

"You must feed the flame," the Beast instructed. "Seek out Edelwood trees in the Unknown and use their oil to keep it lit. You must never let it die, or your daughter will die with it, and she will be gone forever. Do you understand?"

Abraham nodded.

"Arise then, my Woodsman, and go forth into the Unknown. Keep the lantern lit. That is your purpose."

Abraham got unsteadily to his feet, tears still streaming down his face.

The Beast poured itself out the doorway and into the night. "Now, she shall be with you always," it crooned as it slunk away. "And so shall I."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm about five years late, but I just experienced Over the Garden Wall yesterday and I still have chills. 
> 
> If you enjoyed my little ficlet, please consider leaving me a comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)


End file.
